#puberty-blockers

#puberty-blockers

Prof Jacob George, who was appointed chief medical and scientific officer at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in January, raised concerns that led to the Pathways trial being put on hold by the government, according to the Sunday Times. But the regulator announced on Saturday that George would recuse himself from involvement in the trial after gender-critical social media posts made last year emerged.

Legal experts at Good Law Project revealed in a Saturday (7 February) report that deaths by suicide among trans youngsters surged to 22 in England between 2021 and 2022. The number is nearly six times higher than reported deaths in 2020-21, according to its freedom of information (FOI) data, with at least four trans and non-binary young people in 2020-21. Comparatively, the number of reported deaths went down by one between 2019-20 and 2020-21.

Three of the world's top trans healthcare organisations have expressed "significant ethical concerns" regarding the UK Government's upcoming puberty blockers trial. The European, World, and US Professional Associations for Transgender Health (EPATH, WPATH, and USPATH) said they believe the NHS PATHWAYS trial conflicts with "internationally recognised ethical standards". Commissioned in the wake of the Government's decision to indefinitely ban puberty blockers for trans young people,

However, Badenoch and the shadow health secretary, Stuart Andrew, wrote to Streeting on 25 November, saying they were concerned NHS England was supporting a clinical trial involving drugs which halted natural puberty. Cass found remarkably weak evidence the drugs were effective in treating gender-related distress, adding there is no good evidence on long-term outcomes. She has said a trial is the only way forward in the attempt to understand if there are beneficial effects.

However, the 2024 Cass review of NHS gender identity services for children and young people found there was insufficient/inconsistent evidence about the effects of puberty suppression on psychological or psychosocial wellbeing, cognitive development, cardio-metabolic risk or fertility. NHS England subsequently announced children with gender dysphoria would no longer receive puberty blockers as routine practice, with their use confined to research settings.

"I remember working with Esme Wren and Hannah Barnes and Deb Cohen and we were looking at the question of the Tavistock," she said. "This was the only gender identity development service for the under-16s. "We questioned why it wasn't data led, why it seemed to be so arbitrary with the kind of recommendations and advice and even the [puberty] blockers they were handing out to young people. "The work we did actually led to the closure of the Tavistock."

NHS patients who are already receiving these medicines for gender incongruence and/or gender dysphoria can continue to access them, as can patients receiving the medicines for other uses.

The court heard that health director-general Dr David Rosengren had consulted with executives of the state's hospitals and health services at 10am on 28 January, the same time that Nicholls held a press conference announcing the ban and a subsequent review. In a statement to parliament on Tuesday, just hours after the verdict, Nicholls issued a "written ministerial direction" to reinstate the ban until the review had been completed, saying the court ruling had focused on the improper process behind the ban's enactment, not whether it was appropriate. 'I am satisfied it is appropriate and in the public interest that I issue a written ministerial direction,' he said, according to The Guardian. The new directive's provisions are believed to match those announced in January.

Queensland's controversial ban on puberty blockers and other hormone therapies is unlawful because of a failure to properly consult health executives on a decision affected by political interference, a court has heard. The supreme court in Brisbane on Wednesday heard the ban should be overturned as part of a legal challenge launched by the mother of a transgender child. The mother cannot be identified for legal reasons.

"I am extremely frustrated by the slow progress on the clinical trial. The reason it's taking its time is because it is absolutely vital that we get the research programme right, so that at the end of that programme, the evidence can be trusted and not subject to challenge."